In April of 2017, the Dallas Stars were in a deep hole. They were missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the seventh time in nine years and had just turned in one of the worst seasons in franchise history. But that wasn’t why they were in a hole.
Instead, it was due to all of the things that the Stars would have to accomplish in the offseason. At the end of the regular season, Dallas compiled a massive checklist of offseason priorities. It was the most intricate and detailed offseason list of general manager Jim Nill‘s time with the Stars.